


Get Out & Go Begin It

by aj_books, punkenigma



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Again, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anxiety, Aromantic Jenna Rolan, Asexual Alana Beck, Autistic Jared, Bisexual Evan Hansen, Bisexual Jeremy Heere, Bisexual Rich Goranski, Borderline Personality Disorder, Connor Murphy (Dear Evan Hansen) Has BPD, Crossover, Depression, Dermatillomania, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone Needs Therapy, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Connor Murphy (Dear Evan Hansen), Gay Jared Kleinman, Gay Michael Mell, Homoromantic Alana Beck, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jared has dermatillomania, Jewish Evan Hansen, Jewish Jared Kleinman, Lesbian Chloe Valentine, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Christine Canigula, Nonbinary Connor Murphy, Other, Panromantic Christine Canigula, Pansexual Brooke Lohst, Pansexual Jake Dillinger, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Separation Anxiety, Trans Jared Kleinman, Trans Jenna Rolan, Trans Michael Mell, and so did connor's suicide attempt, autistic Alana, autistic christine, but he survived, chloe has ptsd and ocd, jake has ptsd and ocd tendencies and separation anxiety, jeremy has ptsd, just let everyone be happy ffs, obviously, pansexual zoe murphy, rich has ptsd, the squip thing DID happen, they all have anxiety or depression or both, this is self-indulgent as fuck, zoe has situational ptsd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-04-28 10:21:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14447247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_books/pseuds/aj_books, https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkenigma/pseuds/punkenigma
Summary: A simple flier set the whole thing in motion. A national competition to raise mental health awareness turns into a student-made musical where the gangs converge with the intent to win. Friendships form, some relationships too, and, of course, problems arise. But what else would you expect? This is high school, after all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a huge self-indulgent fic that my pal @aj_books and I came up with on the bus ride home from seeing DEH so here we are, finally writing the thing. Who knows if we'll have a posting schedule? Feedback is ALWAYS appreciated homies; good luck and enjoy!

Late. The one word flashing through Rich’s mind as his alarm continued to blare  _ Heat of the Moment.  _ His bag was pre-packed - thank God for that - but he was due to leave five minutes ago, setting his schedule back by a whole five minutes. God damn Sunday night binge watching. His shoes weren’t tied, phone shoved into some pocket in his bag - hopefully at least - jacket slung over his shoulder, these pants may have been worn last Friday, who knows? 

He’d get an earful from Jenna on timing and not staying up past a certain time and all that, but he knows that monologue by heart and has yet to learn from it. He managed to shut his door - he hadn’t packed a lunch but he’d risk buying school lunches (and if not there are vending machines full of off brand snacks and drinks). Locking the door behind him he rushed to his car, throwing his bag and jacket on the passenger's before buckling himself in, starting the car and letting out a deep sigh. 

Ten minutes late.

Fuck him.

  


//

  


Luckily upon arriving he had about ten minutes before class started, running up to his friend group with a red face and shortness of breath. He wasn’t even fully out of shape why is this happening. He tried to ignore Jenna’s raised eyebrow of disapproval but those piercing eyes were hard to miss. Looking up with a smile, the awkward mock salute coming into play.

“Hey. Overslept. But I’m here!” He threw his hands out in faux enthusiasm, accepting the now melting watermelon slushie from Michael. 

“What show was it this time?” Jake’s voice was laced with amusement as he looked down at his friend.

“Walking Dead, I’m about...five seasons behind?”

“There’s...there’s eight seasons of Walking Dead.” 

He turned to Christine, “I know, hence why I’m trying to get caught up before season nine comes out!” 

“Good luck with that then.” She says it sincerely, but he detects the underlying sarcasm.

Michael looked down at his phone and choked a bit on his slushie, wincing as Jeremy started wacking him on the back. 

“Okay the bell rings in two minutes and my class takes five to walk to. Peace!” 

Fist bumping Jeremy he started jogging slowly away from them.

“Run Michael!”

“I don’t run!”

“Yeah my class is kinda far, not as far as Mikey’s but…” With a shrug Jake and Jenna started walking off, waving the group goodbye.

“Don’t fall asleep in English, Rich!”

“That was one time Jenna!” He whined, softly shoving Jeremy as he laughed.

“Was it though?” Jeremy teased, dodging Rich’s second oncoming shove.

“C’mon tall ass, let’s get to class before Mrs. Gardner gives us all a detention on a Monday. As if Monday’s could get any worse.”

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - I’m not that tall!” He swung his arms out, Christine laughing as she ducked away from Jeremy’s antics. 

“And as I’ve said before, if you didn’t slouch so much, you would be.” 

“Maybe I wanna slouch!” 

“See you two at lunch!” Christine waved as she went to her class across the hall, smiling at Mr. Brunner as she entered his class.

“Morning Mrs. Gardner!” Rich grinned as he entered the class, Jeremy following behind him waving at her, the bell ringing out in the halls.

“Mr. Goranski, Mr. Heere, good morning. I hope you got the reading done this weekend.” 

Putting his bag down on his desk Rich pulled out his paper - crinkled and maybe a soda stain on the corner - but done nonetheless.

“Ye of little faith Mrs. G! I not only read it, but answered the quotes with quotes and everything.” Handing her his packet she smiled at him.

“I can’t say I’m not surprised, but I am proud.” He grinned as she moved to put it on her desk, accepting the papers from Jeremy as the rest of the class filed in.  

He turned to sit in his seat but paused, eyes catching a flier sticking out at the bottom of Mrs. G’s bulletin board. Normally the only posts on there are no named papers, fliers for after school clubs (he was the proud president of the GSA) but this was new. For one, this paper was very professional looking and not crowded like all the mediocre designers at this school. 

He felt himself walking over there before his brain managed to catch up to what he was doing, lifting the paper above it to read what was written.

_ You Will Be Found Project. _

Hopefully this was not an English assignment worth half of his grade. But better safe than sorry, he continued to read. 

_ Loudest Voices Foundation. _

_ Performance Dates: _

_ October 25th, 2018 - January 15th, 2019 _

_ Winning Show Prizes: _

_ -$100,000 _

_ -Show on tour _

_ -$3,000 to any mental health organization of your choice _

_ For more info: _

_ 555-867-5309 _

[ _ ywbfp@anemail.com _ ](mailto:ywbfp@anemail.com)

After reading through the information provided, Rich leaned back a bit. If there was one thing Mrs. G ever taught him it’s how to not be vague but not put too many words, and this has few words, but was extremely vague. He looked over to Mrs G. who was discussing homework with a student, Amelie, and looked back to the flyer. Worth a shot.

He grabbed the paper off the board, walking back before stuffing it in his bag. Hopefully this didn’t count as theft as he wasn’t planning on giving it back. They had about thirty minutes of silent time, which most students finish any work or read, but with a new sense of curiosity he pulled out his school laptop - honestly these things worked worse than the first ever iPhone - and got to work.

Opening up google he began to type,  _ ‘you will be found project’.  _

_ About 234,000,000 results (0.54 seconds).  _ Okay damn.

Clicking the first link, his leg began shaking in anticipation, hopefully this wasn’t blocked. As the page began to load, the title stood out, a bright blue background listing the project name. A prize of $100,000 sounds amazing, but just what was needed to win that? 

Rubbing at his neck he began to scroll.

_ The You Will Be Found Project was started by the Loudest Voices Foundation, CEO Clarisse had begun brainstorming this project early 2012. This project hopes to spread awareness of mental illnesses, but is all student started. Those entering must write, produce and perform a musical discussing and representing one or more of any mental illnesses in a correct representation.  _

_ There’s a limited slot for entries, and the closing date of entering is December 15th, 2018.  _

Rich checked his phone, now realizing how silent it was. Looking around he saw everyone working or reading, Mrs. G. sat at her desk reading through the homework turned in. He looked back down at his phone, December 9th, 2018, six days left. 

_ Entrees must fill out the necessary information in the forms provided. If there are any questions please email or call, 555-867-5309 or  _ [ _ ywbfp@anemail.com _ ](mailto:ywbfp@anemail.com)

His eyes went out of focus as he finished reading, mind already racing a thousand different ways as he thought it over. Everything about it seemed legit, there was an “.org” instead of “.com” and he was sure some lesson in elementary school computer class said those were more trustworthy. Closing his laptop he grabbed his book, not planning on actually reading as he continued to mull the idea over. He began to grin. Christine would get a kick out of this. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rich informs the squip squad of the flier and, naturally, Christine is a lot to handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so our plan is to hopefully update once a week, but with graduation coming up that is up to change! 
> 
> again, this is a collab with my best friend, @aj_books and is basically just self-fulfillment
> 
> enjoyyyyyy xx

Classes came and went, Rich attending each with less zeal than before. By the time the lunch bell rang, he had been taking an impromptu nap in AP Geography, suddenly jolted awake by classmates rushing out around him. He made his way into the cafeteria and plopped into his seat in between Jake and Brooke. The blonde was turned to Chloe, chatting away about something or other, while the rest seemed wrapped up in whatever story Michael was telling, gesticulating wildly.

“See this is why you shouldn’t get high alone, Micha,” Jeremy laughed. Michael rolled his eyes, nudging his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

“How many classes did you make it through before passing out this time, Rich?” Jake asked. He swallowed  his drink.

“Three, but only because Mr. D was showing one of those ancient VHS tapes again.” He replied, matter-of-fact. The table chuckled.

“Oh!” He exclaimed, remembering the flier. He pointed at Christine, who was knee deep in leftover curry. 

“Chris, I found something that I thought you’d like.”

They raised a brow, interest peaked. Rich dug through his less-than-organized backpack and fished out the paper. Handing it to them, he continued,

“Saw this is Ms. G’s room, the  _ You Will Be Found Project _ ? Sounded sketchy at first but I looked it up and it seems legit. Student groups and you have to make a short musical on mental health issues? Figured our group has enough experience to tackle that.”

The table fell silent for a brief moment. It had been months but acknowledging the beginning of the year was still hard, even if it did bring them all together. The silence was interrupted by a squeal before Christine hopped from their seat. Arms thrown in the air, they exclaimed,

“This is  _ amazing _ ! I’ve always wanted to try my hand at creating music for shows and this is perfect! And we can all be involved! Jere, Jake, you can be some of the actors! And Michael, you can—”

“Be stage manager and not in front of people? Absolutely.”

“— Sure why not! Rich you can help with set! This is all so exciting! Oh but we don’t have enough people just between all of us, I’ll have to rope Lana and her friends into it too!”

A quizzical air covered the table. Chloe was the first to break the silence.

“Lana?”

As if it was old news, Christine threw an answer into their ramble.

“My girlfriend. Oh this is going to be great! She’s a fantastic writer, super smart. Brooke do you still sew? That could be great for costumes!”

They continued to talk - mostly to themself- while the rest of the table stared, baffled. Rich mouthed at Jenna,

“Girlfriend?”

She shrugged. Well, at least he wasn’t alone. 

 

//

 

“The  _ You Will Be Found Project _ ?” 

Jared asked, incredulously. The others seemed equally as confused. Alana nodded, smiling wide.

“Christine told me! It’s our chance to make an impact, guys! Help people feel not so alone!”

Jared leaned in toward Evan, whispering,

“Whose Christine?”

“Her girlfriend.” Evan replied. Jared quirked an eyebrow, but shrugged. Zoe leaned onto the table.

“But how are we gonna get all of that done on top of school work?”

Alana waved her off. The older girl was good at overscheduling herself and, inadvertently, her friends. Zoe rolled her eyes. Evan smiled.

“I think it’s a great idea, Lana.”

She smiled back at him, softer than her usual exuberant grin. She nodded a silent thank you. Jared squeezed Evan’s hand from under the table, the taller returning the favor.

“You’re gonna drag me along, aren’t you?”

Zoe hit her brother’s arm, rolling her eyes. He smirked at her, before turning to the others with a more genuine smile. 

“Of course, Lana, we’ll all do it.”

Alana clasped her hands together, excitedly. She pulled out her phone and started texting frantically. Jared leaned across the table, noseily appearing in her personal space. 

“So… when do we get to meet this girlfriend of yours, Lan?”

Pushing him back to his space next to Evan, she replied,

“Not girlfriend, datemate and  _ that _ is what I’m scheduling right now. We’re all gonna meet up with their group in the auditorium tomorrow after school! That way we can all get to know each other before brainstorming for the show!”

“That’ll give me time to interrogate Christine too,” Jared snickered. Alana deflated.

“Please don’t do that.”

Jared raised his hands up in defense.

“Hey one of us has to. Would you rather it be Connor?”

“I’d  _ rather _ it be none of you. I can handle myself, thanks, plus we’ve been dating for nearly four months now so your window of opportunity closed a while ago.”

Jared gasped, hand covering his heart in mock offense. Evan rolled his eyes as the rest of the table chuckled quietly.

“Sabotage! You did this on purpose!”

Laughing, Alana shook her head and returned to her phone, waving off Jared’s further attempts at disruption. He turned to Connor and nudged him. The taller boy raised an eyebrow. Jared leaned closer, whispering,

“You still gonna help me interrogate them?”

Connor sighed, flippantly. 

“Alana’s obsession with crime novels leaves her with the ability to kill someone in several different, undetectable ways, so count me out, but if you want to leave Evan to bury your dumb ass then be my guest.”

> Rolling his eyes, the shorter boy flipped Connor off and, at last, turned back to the group conversation. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> two worlds [finally] collide

The lights flickered on as Alana hit the switch, smiling at the cool, comforting feeling surrounding her. She sat her bag and jacket in one of the nearby seats, fixing her glasses as she looked around. Her brain began whirling with all the ideas and possibilities as she studied the layout of the stage. It wasn’t the biggest but it was above average size, the lights could use adjusting but last she saw they worked phenomenally, the soundboard was in check and as long as they found someone who knew what they were doing all would be well.

Well, knock on wood.

The door opened behind her and she turned, she started to grin as she saw Chris walking in, brightly colored scarf and jean jacket adorned the shorter of the two.

“Chris!” 

“Lana!”

The two hugged tightly, Chris burying their head in Alana’s shoulder, smiling brightly as they stepped back. 

“Did you tell your group?” Chris was bouncing on their feet, hands clasped together.

“I did! They were pretty excited - well all but Jared, and Connor was trying to act like he wasn’t but I could tell. He’s always been a exceptional writer - we’ve been partners in English several times, even before we were friends.”

“My group seems excited too! Rich is just excited to be able to build the set - he loves anything dealing with construction! And Brooke is excited for making costumes!” Chris’ hands were waving about in excitement, their grin growing bigger and bigger by the second.

“They know to come here when their classes let out right?”

“That’s what I told them! Oh, Lana I’m so excited!” 

“As am I! I feel we have an awesome group coming together, and believe me, both our groups have enough knowledge and background on mental health issues to be authentic and know what others need and want to hear.”

The bell overhead rang and Chris’ bouncing started back up again, clapping their hands together.

“That’s the bell! School is over!”

“Well Evan and Zoe have English which is nearby so they may be the first to show, but Connor may have ditched last period as they have a sub majority of the school hates and he wanted to be his, quote unquote, best to meet someone so special to me.”

“Aw that’s sweet! But he didn’t have to ditch class for me - I’m going to love all your friends!” Chris gushed.

As the two continued discussing their friend groups and their dynamics, outside in the crowded halls Evan and Zoe made their way to the theatre. 

“How do you think today will go?” Evan asked, fidgeting with his book bag strap. Zoe smiled reassuringly, holding his hand in a comforting manner.

“I think it will go well. Alana wouldn’t introduce us to anyone who isn’t amazing, plus if anyone tries anything you know the Murphy siblings will fight them for you all.”

Evan laughed and Zoe let his hand go, brushing her hair from her face. The two continued quietly discussing events that happened in English, making their way through the halls. As they began nearing the theatre there was another small group coming from the opposite side. 

“Think they’re Alana’s friends?” Evan asked quietly, eliciting a shrug from Zoe.

She was almost at the door when the taller one of the opposite group grabbed the handle before her, opening the door and standing to the side to let her in. Meeting his eyes she smiled, thanking him as she walked in, Evan right behind her.

“Lana!” She called out, seeing her friend with who she assumed was her partner.

“Zoe! Evan!” Alana stood up to come over to the two of them, hugging them before stepping back.

“Zoe, Evan, this is Christine. Christine, this is Zoe and Evan.”

“Hi! It’s so nice to meet you! Alana has told me so much about you!” They hugged Zoe and paused at Evan, “Is it okay if I hug you too? I know sometimes people with anxiety don’t like physical contact, especially from someone they don’t know. If you don’t that’s totally okay!”

Her smile was so sincere Evan felt almost blind sided. No one had ever  _ asked  _ if he was okay with physical contact. Okay, so his friends did, but he meant someone who didn’t know him well or hadn’t been there through his anxiety and panic attacks.

“Uh - yeah no, hugging is okay.”

Chris grinned and pulled him into a soft hug, Evan being about a head and a half taller than them. Stepping back Chris’ eyes caught something behind the pair, and they began to smile wider. Turning, Evan and Zoe saw the group of three  that was walking to the theatre by them.

“Hey guys!” Rushing forward Chris lept into the taller guys arms, and he let out a surprised laugh, twirling her before setting her down.

“Hey Chris, you know we saw you at lunch.” He laughed lightly.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t miss my friends!” Grabbing their arms, they led them closer to the other three.

“Alana, Zoe, Evan, this is Rich,” pointing to the smaller guy, “Michael,” the guy in the red hoodie, “and Jake!” lastly, Chris pointed to the taller of the three, well, of everyone there.

“And guys, this is Evan,” he waved awkwardly, “Zoe,” she studied the three of them, “and of course, Alana, my girlfriend,” Alana beamed at the three, happiness shining through. 

“It’s so nice to meet you all! Chris has told me so much about you!” Alana stepped forward, unsure whether she should hold out her hand or go in to hug them. 

“I wish I could say the same!” Rich answered with a smile, bouncing forward to shake her hand, “But either way it’s awesome to meet you!”

Jake elbowed him in the side, eliciting a wince from the short of the two. Michael grinned at the three, throwing a peace sign up from his slurpee - second one of the day, and yet no one knows how or when he managed to get the second one. 

“Well, hey, I’m Zoe, as Christine said.” She waved slightly with one hand, shoving it back into her pocket and smiling awkwardly.

“Uh yeah - I’m Jake.”

“She knows that already dipshit.” 

Jake glared down at Rich who was fiddling with his hoodie sleeves. The door opened once more as Jenna walked in, holding the door open for Brooke as the two entered together. 

“There’s these two guys outside arguing.” Jenna filled them in as they got closer to the group, “Jeremy got stuck in the middle for a second and Chloe had to pull him out and calm him down a bit, they’ll be in in a second.”

Michael spun toward her, brows furrowed.

“Jere? Is he alright?” He asked, voice thick with concern. Jenna nodded, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. He relaxed a bit under the touch. 

“What were they arguing about?” 

Zoe’s voice held suspicion - and for good reason.

“Uh - something about pasta shapes and flavors.”

In unison Zoe and Evan let out an exasperated sigh, Zoe muttering a, “God damn it,” under her breath.

“We’ll be right back.” She said, grabbing Evan’s arm and dragging him outside of the theatre.

“What was that about?” Brooke questioned, coming to stand next to Michael.

“Oh, the two arguing outside. That’s Connor and Jared - they started this debate this morning on the way here. Connor is Zoe’s older brother and Jared is Evan’s boyfriend.” Alana informed the other six as they all continued to wait. There was muffled yelling from outside, causing Alana to sigh and shake her head. Christine smiled, squeezing her hand. Eventually, the doors swung open again, revealing a bickering Connor and Zoe, followed by a babbling Jared and quiet Evan. The group made their way over to the others. Surprisingly, Evan spoke up first. 

“This is C-Connor, Zoe’s brother,”

“Bother, more like,” Zoe interjected. Evan continued without reaction.

“And this is Jared, my b-boyfriend.” His voice got quieter at the end. Jared reached out, wrapping an arm around Evan’s waist and squeezing lightly. The others smiled, giving their own introductions. 

“Hey look Jared! Now you can stop complaining about being the shortest friend!” Alana joked, nodding her head towards Rich.

Rich pretended to be offended, hand over his chest as the others laughed quietly, the awkward tension dissipating quickly. Zoe looked to her left, smiling at her brother without him seeing. Connor hadn’t laughed much throughout high school, and while he’d gotten help and a lot better, seeing him like this - carefree and happy - made her feel better each day.

Rich couldn’t help but let his eyes linger on the taller male, taking note of his long hair - pulled into a bun by Zoe who said that he looked like he was still mourning My Chemical Romance (“What if I am, Zoe?”) - and the chipping black polish on his nails. His nose crinkled as he laughed and Rich’s smile brightened.

As the laughter died down, the group turned toward the doors as Chloe and Jeremy finally entered. Jeremy looked slightly shaken, hair more disheveled than usual. Michael made his way to them, meeting them halfway. He threw his arms around Jeremy, pulling him into a tight hug. The taller boy laughed at something Michael said and Chloe rolled her eyes, joining the others. The boys slowly made their way back to the group, too wrapped up in their own conversation to take notice. 

“So, what did we miss?” Chloe asked. 


End file.
